Lane recognition method and system

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a method of recognizing the location of a current lane in which a vehicle is traveling, using a radar and an imaging device. The method includes: detecting the locations of the fixed objects using an object detector; capturing a photograph of the road surface ahead using an imaging device; calculating, by a controller, the entire width of a traveling road based on the locations of the fixed objects at the left side and the right side; calculating, by the controller the width of a traveling lane from the photograph of the road surface; and calculating, by the controller, the lane in which the vehicle is traveling based on the calculated width of the traveling lane and the entire width of the traveling road.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A lane recognition method of recognizing a lane in which a vehicle is traveling, comprising:
 detecting, by a radar, a plurality of locations of a plurality of fixed objects at a left side and a right side of a traveling directional road; 
 calculating, by the controller, an inter radar beam angle of a plurality of radar beams reflected and received from the fixed objects at the left side and the right side at a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle; 
 detecting, by the controller, left and right angles of a driving direction of the vehicle and the plurality of radar beams reflected and received from the fixed objects at the left side and the right side at the predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle; 
 calculating, by the controller, the plurality of locations of the fixed objects based on the inter radar beam angle and the left and right angles; 
 capturing, by an imaging device, a photograph of a road surface ahead; 
 calculating, by a controller, the entire width of the traveling directional road based on the locations of the fixed objects at the left side and the right side; 
 calculating, by the controller, the width of a traveling lane from the photograph of the road surface; and 
 calculating, by the controller, the lane in which the vehicle is traveling based on the calculated width of the traveling lane and the entire width of the traveling directional road. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the left fixed object is a central reservation and the right fixed object is a guard rail, wherein the method further comprises canceling recognizing a traveling lane, when the radar beam is not received. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the calculating of the entire width of the traveling road includes:
 calculating, by the controller, the distances between the radar and the left and right fixed objects from the reflected and received radar beams; and 
 determining, by the controller, the entire width of the traveling road from the following equation
   Width=(Distance_ L *sin(Angle_ L ))+(Distance_ R *sin(Angle_ R )), 
 
 wherein Width is the entire width of the traveling road, Distance_L and Distance_R are the distances between the radar and the left and right fixed objects, and Angle_L and Angle_R are the left and right angles. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the calculating of a lane in which the vehicle is traveling includes calculating, by the controller, the number of traveling lanes based on the calculated width of the traveling lane and entire width of the traveling road. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein the calculating of the number of lanes of the traveling road has the integer of the quotient obtained by dividing the entire width of the traveling road by the width of the traveling lane as the number of lanes. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the calculating of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling uses the following equation:
   (Current_Lane−0.5)*Lane_ W =Distance_ L *sin(Angle_ L ),
 
 wherein Current_Lane is the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, Lane_W is the calculated lane width, Distance_L is the distance between the radar and the left fixed objects, and Angle_L is the left angle. 
 
     
     
       7. A system for recognizing a lane, comprising:
 a radar mounted on a vehicle, wherein the radar is configured to detect a plurality of locations of a plurality of fixed objects at a left side and a right side of a road; 
 an imaging device mounted on the vehicle, wherein the imaging device is configured to capture a photograph of a road surface of the road; and 
 a controller configured to: 
 calculate an inter radar beam angle of a plurality of radar beams reflected and received from the fixed objects at the left side and the right side at a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle; 
 detect left and right angles of a driving direction of the vehicle and the plurality of radar beams reflected and received from the fixed objects at the left side and the right side at the predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle; 
 calculate the plurality of locations of the fixed objects based on the inter radar beam angle and the left and right angles; 
 calculate the entire width of a traveling directional road based on the locations of the fixed objects at the left side and the right side; 
 calculate the width of a traveling lane from the photograph of the road surface; and 
 calculate the lane in which the vehicle is traveling based on the calculated width of the traveling lane and the entire width of the traveling directional road. 
 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 7 , wherein the left fixed object is a central reservation, and the right fixed object is a guard rail. 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 7 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 calculate the distances between the radar and the left and right fixed objects form the reflected and received radar beams; and 
 determine the entire width of the traveling road from the following equation:
   Width=(Distance_ L *sin(Angle_ L ))+(Distance_ R *sin(Angle_ R )), 
 
 wherein Width is the entire width of the traveling road, Distance_L and Distance_R are the distances between the radar and the left and right fixed objects, and Angle_L and Angle_R are the left and right angles. 
 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 7 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 calculate the number of traveling lanes based on the calculated width of the traveling lane and the entire width of the traveling road; and 
 calculate the lane in which the vehicle is traveling using the following equation:
   (Current_Lane−0.5)*Lane_ W =Distance_ L *sin(Angle_ L ),
 
 
 wherein Current_Lane is the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, Lane_W is the calculated lane width, Distance_L is the distance between the radar and the left fixed objects, and Angle_L is the left angle. 
 
     
     
       11. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions which, when executed by a controller, cause the processor to:
 control a radar mounted on a vehicle to detect a plurality of locations of a plurality of fixed objects at a left side and a right side of a road; 
 calculate an inter radar beam angle of a plurality of radar beams reflected and received from the fixed objects at the left side and the right side at a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle; 
 detect left and right angles of a driving direction of the vehicle and the plurality of radar beams reflected and received from the fixed objects at the left side and the right side at the predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle; 
 calculate the plurality of locations of the fixed objects based on the inter radar beam angle and the left and right angles; 
 calculate the entire width of a traveling directional road based on the plurality of locations of the fixed objects detected at the left side and the right side of the traveling directional road; 
 calculate the width of a traveling lane from a photograph of a road surface captured by an imaging device; and 
 calculate the lane in which the vehicle is traveling based on the calculated width of the traveling lane and the entire width of the traveling directional road. 
 
     
     
       12. The computer readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the left fixed object is a central reservation and the right fixed object is a guard rail and the program instructions further cause the processor to cancel recognizing a traveling lane, when the radar beam is not received. 
     
     
       13. The computer readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the program instructions further cause the processor to:
 calculate the distances between the radar and the left and right fixed objects from the reflected and received radar beams; and 
 determine the entire width of the traveling road from the following equation
   Width=(Distance_ L *sin(Angle_ L ))+(Distance_ R *sin(Angle_ R )), 
 
 wherein Width is the entire width of the traveling road, Distance_L and Distance_R are the distances between the radar and the left and right fixed objects, and Angle_L and Angle_R are the left and right angles. 
 
     
     
       14. The computer readable medium of  claim 11 , wherein the program instructions further cause the processor to:
 calculate the number of traveling lanes based on the calculated width of the traveling lane and the entire width of the traveling road; and 
 calculate the lane in which the vehicle is traveling using the following equation:
   (Current_Lane−0.5)*Lane_ W =Distance_ L *sin(Angle_ L ),
 
 
 wherein Current_Lane is the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, Lane_W is the calculated lane width, Distance_L is the distance between the radar and the left fixed objects, and Angle_L is the left angle.